Okay, I will admit it. In some circles it may be indiscreet to do so, but I do love a Big Mac from time to time.  I secretly celebrate when McDonald's offers the Double Big Mac, which happens rarely. When just a little while ago, the Big Mac's oversized cousin was being offered on the menu, I found myself in the drive-through with my son picking up breakfast. As we rounded the building, I looked for promotional posters on the windows announcing the arrival of the Double Big Mac, but I didn't see any. 

Just after placing the order at the speaker, I asked the attendant, speaking very clearly, "Look, I know it's not offered now, as it is the breakfast menu, but is the Double Big Mac offered later in the day?"  The attendant responded in broken English, "It's not available now, breakfast only." I responded with a thank you and pulled up to the queue for the pay window. While waiting, I expressed mild frustration to my son. I explained to him how I went to some length to explain how I understood how the breakfast menu works, but that the response was just a repeat of what I had already said.  

His response struck me. "Well, Dad, they just aren't paid enough to care." I was quiet for a while as I processed his statement. 

Over the years I have sat through several job interviews and have reviewed many job postings. It occurred to me that I never saw the word "care" in a job posting and was never asked about it in a job interview. And yet caring is the most basic foundation of success in any job. More importantly, it is at the foundation of a successful culture, society, and civilization as we know it. The absence of caring, or the damage caused by its absence, is readily noticeable but rarely discussed. When caring stops, apathy takes its place, and it has been doing so in the world for some time now. 

Nobody gets paid to care, but the ability to care is ultimately what holds civilization together. Even dogs and cats understand this on some level. There is no textbook teaching people how to care. Passing on the ability and need to care to future generations can only be done by setting the right example in the things we do, in the lives we lead. 

I am to this day still processing my son's comment in the car as we waited for breakfast that day. Its subtleties, nuances, layers, and quiet, understated urgency will follow me for a long time and continue to unfold. 

Image credit: Tim Boyle, Getty Images

A Few Thoughts On The Second Amendment

1) The Second Amendment does not grant the right to bear arms. It merely acknowledges that the right exists and "shall not be infringed." 

2) There are more than 20,000 gun laws on the books already, and criminal elements do not obey any of them. Yet the gun control advocates believe that introducing even more gun control laws will somehow reduce crime. Interestingly, the areas of the United States that have the strictest gun laws are the areas with the highest violent crime. It begs the question whether strict gun laws have more to do with controlling and subduing the populace than they have to do with crime. 

3) Semi-automatic rifles are not assault rifles. Some, like the AR-15, bear a superficial resemblance to military-only-issued fully automatic weapons (assault rifles?) but do not have the same capability. 

4) The sometimes misunderstood AR-15 rifle is not the all-powerful weapon that many imagine it to be. Most variations of it chamber the 5.56 mm round, which is roughly equivalent to .22 caliber. Due to its small size and comparatively low power, it is illegal for deer hunting in many states because it is considered not powerful enough to deliver a humane kill. 

5) Guns are kept and appreciated by millions of Americans. They are used for self-defense, hunting, and recreational target shooting. These, however, are not the reasons that the founding fathers added the Second Amendment. They did so to guarantee the means for the populace to keep the government in check, having lived through the tyrannical rule of Great Britain up until the Revolutionary War.  

6) The best gun control is steady, controlled breathing and using two hands. 

Spaghetti And An Old Violin. What's The Connection? 

Every one of us, I think, can remember family traditions and special events from when we were growing up. Special events in my family were always centered around food. Sometimes it seemed like instead of the food being a vehicle of celebration, the food wound up being the thing celebrated. We were foodies, to be sure. 

Sometimes it was gourmet hamburgers, sometimes a steak fry, and sometimes pizza. As memorable as those feasts always were, nobody was ever late to the table for Mom's spaghetti with meat sauce. She would simmer it all day, making occasional adjustments for taste and spice, etc.  And, much to the chagrin of Italian purists, Mom always broke the noodles in half when dropping them into the boiling water. In her defense, though, she was Irish and German.  

Mom's culinary repertoire was not limited to spaghetti. She had a fabulous meatloaf and many great casseroles, cookies, soups, and stews, to name but a few. Mom passed away in 2018 but left behind an extensive recipe collection, organized on 3x5 cards and written in her immaculate penmanship. The recipes were recorded for all of the family favorites, except one. That was the spaghetti sauce, the one for which she was best known.  Like the Stradivarius violin, its secrets went to the afterlife with its creator. I have come to think of Mom's sauce as "Stradivarius Spaghetti" for that reason. 

In the years since, my brothers and I have made numerous attempts to duplicate the sauce. We came close every time but have not been able to match it. There is merit in being close, though, as it was still delicious. However, Mom's legacy sauce formula remains elusive. 

Of the many ingredients in the sauce, the most important is love. One hears this a lot, I suppose, but I think it has two levels of meaning. Firstly, one cooks with love for the people for whom the food is prepared. Secondly, I think it is important to love the food itself and understand its nature and properties so that it can be prepared properly with the best balance of flavor, texture, and appearance. That said, a mother's love is second to none, and I cannot duplicate that powerful ingredient. I will keep trying, though. 

I'm sure there's a life lesson in here somewhere.  Maybe it is to cherish the people in our families and the joy and unique things that they add to our lives.  Maybe it is to write down all of the best recipes. But maybe, just maybe, I find myself remembering Mom better in trying to duplicate her elusive masterpiece than I would if I had an easy roadmap to get there. If I ever do figure it out, though, I am writing it down for sure. 

Please pass the parmesan cheese.

God bless you, my friends. 

Stradivarius image credit: Wikipedia

Business Leadership Thoughts

The following has nothing to do with Catholicism directly, but its core message is based on Christian values. It is based not on what I see in the business world, but on what, as a general rule, I do not see. 

Worth Considering:

Before You Get Into An Argument, Remember This:

A bee does not waste its energy trying to convince a fly that honey is better than sh*t. Some minds are not meant to be changed. Save your energy for what really matters.